According to Health magazine, in the year 2000, 3.9 percent of the U.S. population between the ages of 25 to 44 were living with COPD, 7.7 percent between the ages of 55 to 65 and 9.5 percent of people over the age of 74. While this may seem like a small percentage, the realization is that COPD is killing 100,000 people each year and the number is climbing. Usually, the main culprit behind the cause of COPD is smoking.

Apparently, I did need to be struck by lightning and now I get to deal with that. I KNEW I had COPD, I just lived in denial and figured that I had some days that weren't as bad as others. Truth is, I had NO good days.

I know for a fact that I would not have made it past my first major COPD flare up had I not quit smoking five years sooner. It always sucks to get a smoking related diagnosis but in the end it made me understand that I'm not invincible, which is not what my addicted mind was telling me when I smoked.

NONE of us are invincible. Any one of us can be the the next one to get a health diagnosis that could be prevented, or lessened if we don't do just what Dale said. It can happen at any time, so now's the time to fix it.